A Cross-Cultural Study on Outdoor Play: Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices

Abstract

The aim of this multi-case study was to explore Turkish and Finnish teachers’ beliefs and practices of outdoor play. The participants consisted of seven Turkish and seven Finnish early childhood teachers. Data were drawn from semi-structured interviews with teachers and observation of teachers’ outdoor play practices. The main differences between two cases concerned barriers to outdoor play and practices of outdoor play. Finnish teachers identified no such barriers, whereas Turkish teachers stated they encountered many barriers to applying outdoor play practices. Thus, Finnish teachers practiced outdoor play regularly in all seasons while Turkish teachers applied outdoor play only in good weather.